Team Spirit vs 9Pandas match attracts the most viewers on Day 1 of The International 2023

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On October 12, The International 2023, the world championship and main tournament of the year for Dota 2, kicked off in Seattle. The Peak Viewers number during the first day surpassed 750K people, with the most popular series being the Eastern European derby between Team Spirit and 9Pandas.

The International 2023 report

The participants of The International have only just begun their journey in the Group Stage. The teams have not yet played all their matches, but some conclusions can already be drawn. For example, Team Spirit is the first among the participants to secure a place in the Playoff bracket. On the first day, the Yatoro team achieved three victories — against 9Pandas, Team SMG, and Entity.

Team Liquid and Tundra Esports also showed a decent result, winning two matches each and drawing one. LGD Gaming had only two matches on the first day, but the Chinese team managed to overcome its opponents in both.

Talon Esports and Thunder Awaken are among the main contenders to be eliminated from the Group Stage after the first day of the tournament, as they have both suffered two defeats. We should remind you that after the Group Stage, the weakest team from each group will be eliminated from the tournament. The remaining participants will compete in play-in matches (Group Stage / Phase Two) to determine their seeding in the Playoff bracket.

The International 2023 Day 1 viewership results

On the first day of The International 2023 tournament, the matches accumulated 5.3 million Hours Watched. The Average Viewers number on the broadcasts was 405.3K, with the Peak Viewers number reaching 751.3K. The series between Team Spirit and 9Pandas became the most popular match of the day, attracting 356.7K Peak Viewers. It should be noted that during the Group Stage, matches are played simultaneously, so the overall Peak Viewers number of all broadcasts exceeds the PV numbers of individual matches. The overwhelming majority of viewers watched the broadcasts on Twitch. When it comes to languages, the highest number of fans were on Russian-language streams.

It's interesting to compare these numbers with the metrics of Day 1 of The International 2022. Compared with last year, the HW number decreased by 21%, while the AV number on the streams decreased by 17%. At the same time, the PV number increased by 7%. Interestingly, last year's most popular match on the first day also featured Team Spirit — its opponent was Entity, and the match attracted 444.8K PV. It is important to note that in 2022, the tournament had a slightly different format —the participants were divided into two groups of 10 teams, while in 2023, they were divided into four groups of 5 teams. 

The Group Stage of The International 2023 will take place from October 12 to October 15, and from October 20 to October 29, the teams will play in the Playoff. You can follow the progress of the tournament and its viewership statistics on the live coverage page.